THE London mayor Boris Johnson is proposing to close down Heathrow and replace it with a 24-hour airport in the Thames estuary.

The airport, most likely to be located on an artificial island off Sheppey in Kent, would have four runways, but capacity for two more if required.

Passengers would be transported to and from central London on high-speed trains in about 35 minutes. Luggage could be checked in at the railway station.

The airport would be connected to the Channel tunnel rail link, opening up fast passenger and freight routes to northern Europe. Brussels, for example, would be about 90 minutes away by train.

Johnson’s aides believe the scheme, loosely modelled on Hong Kong international airport, could take just six years to build, eventually leading to a phased closure of Heathrow and possibly even Gatwick.

The Heathrow site, which employs 70,000 workers, could ultimately be turned into Britain’s equivalent of Silicon Valley, with technology parks and affordable homes.

“If we can build St Paul’s, the Gherkin, the Channel tunnel and all the rest of it, we can do this,” said Kit Malthouse, one of Johnson’s deputies, who is overseeing the airport project. “We just need a bit of courage.”

Johnson believes the new airport would solve congestion at Heathrow, which serves 67m passengers a year, and create new jobs east of the capital.

While the proposal will be welcomed by long-suffering residents under the flightpath, the airport’s closure is likely to be opposed by BAA, its owner.

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